Halo: Citadel
by ReaperSlayer47
Summary: Nihai 'Tuyok, a former member of the Covenant High Council, is recruited by ONI to infiltrate the covenant super-city Unity of Faith. He must investigate a group of renegade mercenaries, who seek an Activation Index. As he uncovers a vile plot, he realizes that he must take action if he is to save the people of Faith, and the Galaxy.
1. Chapter 1: Making a Deal

_The Gumala Mountain Range, Sanghelios…_

_Several Months after the Battle of the Ark…_

The Gumalas flowed from east to west like a stream. Zigzagging and twisting across the northern region of Sanghelios. From one of its mountains, Teesteron, the Ocean can be seen reflecting the triumvirate suns of the Urs system, and its slightly reddish/white sky to the south. Atop Teesteron, near its peak, a small hut sticks out rigidly from the mountain side. Largely made of metal, the hut vigilantly hangs against the harsh climate of the mountain top. The hut's entrance, a roughly made door kept close by a bar, stood before a small trail that twisted down the mountain.

Two figures trekked up the small little path, struggling against the winds and snow. The two were definitely not Sangheili in size or shape, and wore black cloaks that covered most of their features. They made their way to the hut at the top, gingerly watching each step, careful not to fall down the steep drop to the bottom of the mountain. As the two figures finally reached the hut, the door opened before them. An Elite, about seven foot, in bluish robes that covered everything except for his hazel eyes; stood before the two strangers, staring intently at them.

"May we come inside? We just want to talk!" one of the figures, clearly a human female, yelled above the wind. The Elite did not recognize the voice, nor did he trust any humans, especially suspicious pair on his own homeworld. Despite that, he reluctantly invited them inside, seeing that it would be rude if he sent them back all the way down the mountain. The two stepped in, and the Elite closed the door behind them, pushing the door bar in position. They removed their hoods, revealing an Asian female and a male, whose face that the Elite never wanted to see again.

"Nihai! Remember me!" He was an Irish man with a thick accent and a deviously happy tone. He had auburn hair, green eyes and a thick beard. He stood about average height with a moderate build.

"What do you want Agent Gilroy?" Nihai said, bluntly cutting straight to the matter at hand.

"What?! You're not happy to see your old friend? I'm disappointed, I thought we were buddies."

"We made a deal, that's hardly enough for a friendship."

The agent straightened his face, immediately losing the silly attitude. The woman pulled out a large plastic envelope, an ONI insignia printed on the front. "Then let's make another deal." She said.

* * *

The two ONI agents sat around Nihai's dining table, ripping open the envelope, revealing a folder of documents. The Sangheili brought a pot over with what the two agents could guess was some kind of stew. He roughly threw over two bowls and slopped the stew into them, before carefully pouring some into his own. Choosing not to risk discovering whatever the stew was made of, the two went straight to business, putting an image before Nihai. The picture was a bird's eye view of a massive city. The city stood on the beach of a large land mass. The city itself was massive, spanning several miles wide, with a massive wall surrounding it. The wall was collapsed on the southern end of the city. A large arm broke off from the city, going towards the east over the ocean. At the end of the arm was a large circular platform, which the Elite recognized to be a gravity lift site for a large CCS Super Carrier. Along the arm and around the upper portions of the city were docking arrays and gravity lift sites for all kinds of ships. A lot of them were unused but several were occupied with large cruisers and frigates, as well as an assortment of smaller ships.

"That's 'Unity of Faith'." The woman stated.

"I know what it is."

"I figured you would, you ran the place before." Agent Gilroy spoke this time. The Elite wasn't surprised that he had known. Unity of Faith is a popular city amongst the covenant, and Nihai was a popular leader. His position as a councilor was partly due to his experience with Faith.

"We've been having some problems with a group of former-UNSC mercenaries known as Victor's Company. They have been raiding several of our bases on the Halo Installations."

"They seem to be focused on retrieving artifacts we collect from the installations. We believe that they are most likely after an Activation Index." The woman added.

"What does this have to do with Faith?"

"An informant told us that the company had been getting payments from someone on Faith using unmarked gold."

"Since we can't get in without risking a full on assault, we need someone resourceful like you to get in and see what you can find out." Gilroy said.

"You'll get a full pardon on your previous actions against the UNSC and your former comrades will be released without harm." The woman offered.

"And if I refuse?" Nihai asked.

"Then you and your comrades will die." Gilroy spoke up again, "We don't have time to play games. If they get an Index, than all they have to do is get to a Halo and activate it. If they activate it, then everyone dies." Nihai understood the destructive power of the Rings; the arbiter made it quite clear. He didn't care much about his own personal safety, and his comrades knew what the risks they were taking when they helped him. What he cared about was Faith.

"I'll find who is behind them and why they are doing it. I will need equipment and transportation."

The Irish man smirked, "Whatever you need… we've got it."


	2. Chapter 2: Victor's Company

Message from the Author:

Hello,

This might have took a little longer to publish than the last one. I'm a college student, so naturally, I might not be able to write this all the time because of Tests, Assignments, Projects, muse-failures, etc. I will try to get these out on Fridays or at the very least on the weekends.

Please leave a review, let me know how I'm doing and what your opinions are, it helps a lot.

-ReaperSlayer

* * *

_Agent Gilroy_

_UNSC Tokyo Rules_

A little office room within the _Tokyo Rules _was occupied by the enigmatic Agent Gilroy. The room was more functional than luxurious, small space, barely enough room to fit a chair, desk, and another seat for any visitors. Piping occupied the ceiling, and a small, dim light fixture, barely supplemented proper lighting. There was a terminal and a few nick-knacks that Agent Gilroy brought with him, but other than that, the room was mostly boring and dreary.

Despite these poor accommodations, Agent Gilroy was as cheery and happy as he usually was. He whistled a tune that sounded like some strange combination between 'Yankee Doodle' and 'Take me to the Ballpark'. He sat back with he is feet propped up on the desk, his head and feet barely fitting within the confined space. The door facing Gilroy opened and the young ONI woman from earlier entered.

"Ah! Ms. Zao! Come in. What do you have for me?" He smiled eerily, and put his feet down.

"We've got a problem: the Delta Halo installation is reporting that their Activation Index was taken a few weeks ago."

"A few weeks ago? What took them so long to report?" His face straightened to a worried expression.

"They lost their communications equipment in the raid and had to send a ship to relay the message to a faster channel."

Gilroy's expression changed, becoming more serious. The woman felt uncomfortable, although she understood the seriousness of the situation, it was still daunting to see the ever happy Gilroy look serious.

"Did Nihai leave already?"

"Yes, he caught a civilian shuttle."

Gilroy's expression became slightly relieved, and the agent leaned back on his chair.

"What else did they tell you?"

* * *

_Victor Avdeyev_

_UNSC Research station over Installation 05_

_A week ago_

Two small explosions rocked the cylindrical space station orbiting close to Delta Halo. Klaxons blared as scientists rushed to safety and emergency personnel dashed to their stations. Victor Avdeyev, a Russian male, clad in black armor and an ODST helmet, rushed with two teams in similar armor. On their shoulders was a symbol of a red skull, detached from its jaw, encompassed in a red circle.

"What was that, _Ajax_?" the Russian asked over his communicator.

"They found a way around our jamming signals, we had to destroy their communications array before they got a message out." A reply from Victor's ship, _the Ajax_.

"Did they get one out?"

"Negative, but they might try to signal them another way."

"Alright, keep an eye out for that fleet, we don't know when they will realize that the beacon was a fake."

"Roger that."

'_It's a good thing we got that covie tech, or we may not have been able to make a jump this close to the station.' _Victor thought.

"This is Gamma One, we don't have resistance now, but they're beginning to regroup for a second attack." The leader of Gamma team, referring to the station's defense personnel, was in one of the station's hangars, where Victor and his men landed.

"Alright, make sure you got everything ready before they attack again. If it gets too hot, pull out."

"Don't worry about it, Capt'em."

The two teams turned a corner and took positions next to a large door marked, 'High Priority Storage'. Echo team's specialist took off his bag and removed a large, half-spherical object. He planted it onto the door, the flat side of the half-sphere snapped on with magnets. He removed a remote from it and pressed some keys which primed the explosives within. Once everyone was in positon, the specialist squeezed the remote's trigger. The half-sphere blasted towards the door, ripping it open and thrusting the rest of the half-sphere breaching charge backward. In the brief milliseconds it was still in the air, the half-sphere shot out a series of small reflective orbs. The orbs, about a dozen or so, flew out into the newly created opening. They burst open as they entered, creating a bright series of flashes that blinded everyone behind the door.

Alpha team's men were the first to charge in. Victor charged after, taking aim with his M7S submachine gun, at a pair of marines who flanked the entrance. He squeezed the trigger and sprayed a burst of rounds into the two men. The burst cut across both of their chests, spraying little splats of blood around from their wounds. Victor then turned to another marine who had took aim at him. He sprayed another burst which struck the marine's left shoulder. The marine was pushed back slightly by the impact of the rounds, but was still able to squeeze the trigger on his assault rifle. The rounds just barely missed Victor, impacting the back wall. Victor pulled the trigger again releasing another burst which shot up the marine's chest going from his left breast up to his cheek bone causing the marine fall.

The chaos of battle finished quickly as Victor's men were brutally efficient. Only one of Alpha's members were injured. Treating the injured Alpha member, Alpha team stayed behind and made sure that the way was clear to leave. Echo team went ahead of Victor and entered the storage room. The room was rectangular, with rows of large glass tubes, holding a myriad of objects collected from Delta Halo. The artifacts varied between forerunner and flood in material, there was even a few covenant artifacts that seemed highly unique. Among the last in the rows was the Activation Index.

* * *

_Agent Gilroy_

_Now_

"Wait, Wait, Wait! You said they jumped, as in slipspace jumped, in front of the space station!?"

"Uhm… yes, that's what they reported. The fleet moved to investigate a distress signal. When they came back the station was attacked and it's communications equipment destroyed." The woman said nervously.

Gilroy analyzed the odd occurrence. _The only people who can do a jump like that are the covenant and The UNSC Infinity. That means we may have less time than we thought we did._

"Order the 7th fleet to rally outside the Veshal system, make sure they are armed to engage the covenant."


	3. Chapter 3: Progress

Note from the Author: This one took a while. Not that it was hard, but I didn't have the time to commit to it. I have had some things pop up that have gotten in the way. So, I **might **take a break from this, but because my schedule might actually change and completely free up, might be able to get another chapter out anyways. So keep an eye out but don't rely on the fact that it would be there.

* * *

_Nihai 'Tuyok_

_Unity of Faith Dock #569_

The Sangheili, clad in silvery white armor, a remnant of his days as an Ultra, slung his pack to his shoulder and walked with the group of passengers who had just came off of the shuttle. The group was bottle-necked into a check-in area, where a group of Grunts checked people into the registration system. They arranged behind terminals, the passengers funneled in open spaces between the terminals. Behind the terminals and Grunts were a group of Jiralhanae. The Jiralhanae stood watch, grimly observing the crowd for troublemakers. Nihai approached a terminal where a Grunt mindlessly stared into the terminal screen, finishing the data on the previous passenger.

"Name?"

"Rha 'Toyokee"

The grunt punched in the name, finding disappointment when he did not find it already in the system, which would have pulled up his information. He looked over at the Sangheili, about to ask something.

"Alright, let me see… Ah! You're Nihai Tuyokee!" The grunt said in sudden excitement at having recognized Nihai's face.

"Governor Tuyokee!" The grunt cheered. "What brings you back to Faith?"

"My last name is Tuyok." Nihai stated plainly, keeping his eyes on the group of Jiralhanae who were all now looking over at him. The elder, ink black hair, with strands of grey hair mixed in, spoke into a communicator in his ear. Observing the Sangheili with his deep green eyes.

"I came here to see how things were going." Nihai responded to the grunt's question.

"It's Horrible! The Prophet! The Prophet! He is terrible! He put all of us in the lower quarters, Unggoy and Sangheili!. We work the mines to the bone! He give us no break, and we no get paid anything! He let us get pushed around by the meanie Jiralhanae! He kills anyone he wants!" The grunt ranted on, while the former-governor watched the group of Jiralhanae, who were approaching.

"You Nihai!?" The Elder questioned, pointing an inquisitive finger.

"Yes." _No point hiding it now._

"Prophet wishes to speak with you." The Elder pulled out a small ball from his bandolier. The ball was about 2 inches in diameter, and had lights emitting from it. The ball flew away from the Brute's hand, and hovered before Nihai. A hologram formed around it, increasing in size until it was about full size of the man it displayed. The hologram revealed a San 'Shyuum (Prophet), seated in a hover chair. Wearing bright purple robes with silver linings, and a large, ridiculous looking head piece. His face was slightly withered but was significantly young for a San 'Shyuum in his position.

"Nihai. Why are you here?" He asked, plain and straight to the point.

"Progress… I came to visit."

"Then why didn't you contact me about it beforehand?"

"Because I'm not here to visit you." He said, briefly looking over at the grunt, who was now observing the conversation from his terminal.

"Don't think I'm an idiot! I know what you have done."

"Done what? I do a lot of things?"

"Now you're playing stupid!?... You killed people. I've heard what you did to Prophet Generosity, and the Council kill squad. You put down a lot of important people. You have some bravery coming to a place like this. At least that hasn't changed. From what I remember, you weren't the killing type."

"Leadership requires mercy. Revenge requires blood!"

"And Traitors require nooses! Or so I've learned from your job."

"What else have you learned? How to mistreat your people? How to have people kill ruthlessly?!"

"Such are the costs of leadership! When fighting separatists during a civil war!"

"A civil war, where the so-called 'separatists', fight for their survival?!"

"Enough! You've already proven my conclusions: you're too dangerous to be kept alive. Kill him!" The hologram quickly shrunk until it disappeared, the ball dropped to the floor, the lights dimming out. The Jiralhanae quickly drew their weapons. Nihai pressed a key on his left vambrace. He suddenly turned transparent, blending in with the background. The brutes wildly shot in his general direction. Fortunately, he dodged without injury, dashing past the large apes, and charging down an alley way that ran between a set of buildings.

After several minutes of running, Nihai stopped to catch his breath and deactivated his cloaking. He found himself in the maintenance area for the atmospheric system for another set of buildings. A nearby terminal, presumably used to access the programming behind the system, flashed green, catching Nihai's attention. He approached the screen which displayed a string of text:

_[Governor Tuyok, Greetings! You may not know who I am at the moment, or very much trust me, even if you know who I was, but it would be advisable to follow my directions if you wish to escape. Please download my subroutine into your HUD. All will be explained once you are safe.]_

Nihai was reluctant to even think about downloading the 'subroutine', but he also knew that he had no choice. He knew Faith, and he knew that he would not be able to compete the security force here in the upper quarters, without some help. It was his intention to just enter and find his way to a local ally. However, he didn't perceive that he was very popular, or had much of a reputation to be memorable.

Nihai downloaded the subroutine, connecting his vambrace to the terminal. The download took less than a second, after which Nihai's HUD appeared on his eye lenses, displaying the usual data and showing a line that navigated through the alleyways. Nihai followed the directions careful not to run into patrols or ambushes. The path entered a large ventilation shaft that dropped down into the lower quarters to supply air. Most often Faith's criminal elements used these shafts to move undetected. Nihai entered the shaft dropping down a gravity lift used by workers, and said criminals, to get around.


	4. Chapter 4: UF-3

Note from the Author: Alright, I took a little break to keep my muse up. I'll try not to do it too much, but it may happen occasionally. Hopefully I didn't lose too many of you.

* * *

_Victor Avdeyev_

_Several Months Ago…_

"This is Suicide!"

"You should have expected it would be after you saw the price I was willing to pay you. You work a dangerous profession."

The Russian mercenary stood before the hologram of the San 'Shyuum, Progress.

"I can't do this against a fleet of UNSC ships."

"Then find a way! You've already failed to get the index twice, they already expect another attempt."

"What's so important about this thing? What does it have to do with those large ring worlds?!"

"It's a forerunner artifact of high research and political value." It is also the key to one of the most destructive weapons in the universe, but he didn't need to know that. "That Halo rings are relics which stored several Forerunner artifacts, both biological and artificial."

"I don't have time for you to question it, Human. If you have a solution come up with it, or I'll find someone who can."

The Russian man contemplated for a moment what solutions he could come up with.

"Then I'll need something extra, if I'm going to complete the job."

"What might that be?"

"I'll need you to install a covenant slip-space drive onto the Ajax."

"Hahahaha! Why would I do that!?" The prophet laughed.

"Because there would be no other way for me to get what you need. And considering how valuable you think it is, I'm sure there is room for you to make arrangements. No one else is willing to do this job, other than me, you said that yourself last time we talked."

He was right. No else was crazy enough to do the job, at least no human was. All Victor had was a frigate, with a rather poor slip-space drive. Not even the current UNSC fleet has such an outdated thing. However, no human had to this day obtained covenant drive tech or the experience to install one. Nor did they have the motivation; everyone is more interested in Forerunner technology. If he were to get his hands on a covenant slip-space drive, he would be making a historical leap.

Progress contemplated the request, his annoyed expression only gave taste to how much he despised the human and his request. He would be damned if he let some humans run off with covenant technology. He would be even more damned if someone found out that he gave it to them. However, he couldn't miss up an opportunity like this. The Sacred Icon would be the key to his plans. He would have to get rid of Victor and his ship later.

"Fine, leave your ship at the designated coordinates, and clear out all personnel. I will have a few 'volunteers' set up the Engine. It will take a few weeks, just remember that if it breaks, you will have no way of fixing it."

"I know, but that's why they think I'm crazy."

"You _ARE_ crazy human. Hurry up, there isn't much time."

The hologram dissipated, the image of progress dissolved instantaneously. The room darkened as the light source disappeared.

* * *

_Nihai 'Tuyok_

_Now…_

Nihai and found himself in the lower quarters, following the path set by the subroutine within his armor. The path stopped before an abandoned factory. The factory was abandoned along with most of the buildings in this side of the lower quarters. The Lower Quarters are built, branching out from the center, following multiple mining shafts. As they were excavated, cleared, and widened, housing and other commodities were built in the newly made spaces. This particular part of the quarters, the Empty Quarter was abandoned after the nearby mines proved to be less than profitable. A scan revealed that there was too little in the direction of the mines worth continuing. There were other areas that were largely abandoned as the mine shafts progressed deeper into the ground, but this was the largest area abandoned.

An elite emerged from the decaying structure. He was rather small and mostly wore rags. That seemed to be the way with a lot of the Sangheili around the Lower Quarters these-days, and it only made Nihai want to kill the little-bastard-in-the-hover-chair even more. The little one came to Nihai and said:

"Come! Machine-buddy wishes to talk to you, big man."

The little-one took Nihai's hand and guided him into the building. The two came before a large, old terminal. The old terminal spoke through a speaker.

"Welcome Governor. I am sure you remember me."

"UF-3, the Associated Intelligence in-charge of the Lower Quarters."

"My predicament has changed since the last time we met."

"I can see that. Would you mind elaborating?"

"During the Schism, I was hacked and reprogrammed by a separatist from an offsite location. Upon my turning the other AI, UF-1 and UF-2, attempted to delete me. Upon my survival procedures, I copied myself onto the hard-ware of this terminal. My original was dele-let-leted. Thankfully, Ches-es-es, the Sangheili who helped you, found me, and has assisted me in restor-r-ring my routines, and hiding my presence within Faith's Maintenance networks. I am not at full capacity, but I am mostly operational."

"So you have been hiding ever since… Why save me?"

"You present a chance to change Faith. While I have been recovering, I have watched as Faith's community within the lower quarters has gotten progressively worse. If it were not the main source of Faith's wealth, I would have feared the Lower Quarters being destroyed by Progress. Since you were well-respected governor here, and a highly experienced military tactician, you are the best leader for a resistance. I had assumed that was your intention, especially after the events that took place during your arrival here."

"Although I envy a chance to gut the tyrant, I have other priorities that take precedence. Someone wishes to obtain an Activation Index for a Halo installation. The Prophet-coward is a major suspect, and he will no doubt have information on this subject, but I must know before I take action.

"Then, I will assist you. If I-I-I can enter his network, then we may find what you are looking for. I will also assist you in foiling the plot this plot. However, I must ask that you take action against Progress, even if he proves to be unaffiliated with this plot. All foreseeable futures for Faith-ith-ith are better without him. You are the most capable of doing such a task."

"Are you sure that leaving Faith leaderless is a better foreseeable future?"

"The outcome will most likely lead to a new leader, the probability that the leader is better than Progress is worth the risk."

"We have a deal. Let's go."

"I have a possible entry for infiltrate…"

"I already have a way in. Just make sure we don't run into any patrols along the way."

"I am afraid that this means goodbye my friend."

The little-one conjured the equivalent of a frown with his mandibles. "Okay." He said glumly.

"I will be sure to return to when our adventure is complete." The AI said, hoping to cheer up him up.

Nihai approached the console, putting his arm up to the display, placing his vambrace in front of the hologram. The hologram interface disappeared, converged into Nihai's vambrace.

"Transfer successful."

"Then let's get going."


	5. Chapter 5: Voron

_The Lower Quarters_

An alleyway connected two small streets towards the more populated East end of the Lower Quarters. It was the only connection between the streets for at least a half-mile. Pipes and grimes dominated the space, leaving just barely enough space for a vehicle to fit through. An indentation running through the middle, directed the loose liquids that ran from the streets to flow through to the drainage opening in the central point of the alley. Two Sangheili entered the alley from the eastern side, both male, one a child, the other his Father. Both were dressed in filthy rags that hung over them like thick, heavy animal skins.

Having already traveled several miles, both looked extremely weary and tired. They made this trip every day, they had to if the boy wanted to stay fed. Each day the mines expanded and so did the lower quarters. Each day, the two had to make a longer journey. Those more fortunate were able to move every once in a while, to keep up with the progression of the mines. However, those like Trenai 'Phyono and his son had to deal with what they already had. It wasn't like they weren't working hard enough, it's just that the Sangheili seemed to be the ones most punished by the prophet Progress. Trenai's son had to be withdrawn from the common rooms, ever since Progress removed them for 'financial reasons'. Everyone knew that it was to disgrace the Sangheili, a step in his process to destroy what made them strong and honorable.

On the other side of the alleyway, the western side, a Jiralhanae, dressed in expensive robes, decorated with religious symbols, approached the two. He was large and had a burly looking face. "Trenai! You Thief! You haven't paid your taxes!"

"I paid in full this week."

"Not according to my records." The brute smiled wickedly. From behind, two Kig-Yar, or as the humans call them, Jackals, appeared from the street blocking off their escape.

"What do you want? Look at me, look at my son! We have nothing but rags!"

"If you cannot pay your taxes, than I will have you pay in blood." The Brute attacked, swinging down on the pair. Trenai pushed his son out of the way, receiving the brunt of the attack.

"Run!" He ordered, the boy reluctantly complied, but not before one of the Kig-Yar grabbed onto his arm, ripping him down to the floor. He prepared his sharp claws, ready to maul the child. "No!" The father fought desperately, attempting to free himself. The brute was ruthless. Pummeling on his victim with wild ferocity. The Brute was a shark, eyes pulled back, gouging on a prey. There was no negotiations, no escape, and no mercy.

A pop, followed by a shallow zap, echoed down the alleyway. The Kig-Yar holding the child fell, limp and unresponsive. A steady zip followed by another pop echoed, a bright green bolt darted down the alleyway, striking the brute in the head. Without protection, a portion Brute's head was incinerated by the super-charged plasma. The other Jackal turned to run. Another bolt of plasma struck him down. Trenai looked down the alley, spotting a robed figure wielding a Plasma Pistol. A hood hid their face, preventing him from identifying them.

Trenai turned his attention to his boy. He was more concerned with him. He checked on him, the boy was curled in the fetal position. Luckily, he wasn't harmed, outside of the harsh bruise on his arm. Trenai's injuries were more extreme; he could feel the sting of several broken bones in his arms, and a broken rib on his side. One of the bones in his arm stuck out slightly, creating a disturbing bump on the skin of his forearm.

"Is he alright?" The figured asked, the voice was feminine.

"Yes. Though you should have come sooner." He replied. The boy was still curled up, despite the conflict being over. He tapped him on the shoulder, the boy responded by looking up. Once he found it was safe the boy uncurled. Despite the position he took, the boy looked rather calm as he came out.

"I'm glad. You have a brave son."

He didn't reply. He stood up, helping his son, gingerly as not to worsen his own injuries. Thankfully, none of their blood had been spilled. It was a dishonor to lose blood unless it was lost fighting the enemy. He still had his honor and so did his son. He looked over to the dead Brute, whose head was still melting. The fancy clothing stained with his red, blue spotted blood. A few spots were fringed by the plasma.

"Are you mad?! Do you realize you made my son and I a target?"

The robed person pulled back her hood, revealing to be a Sangheili female. Her pale skin, smooth features, and braided locks displayed a beauty only Sangheili men could appreciate. She was far more beautiful than most Sangheili females, the only blemish was a small scar that branded the left side of her face.

"Voron! What are you doing here!? Keep away from my son!" He shielded his son, and started to move away.

"Wait! I need to speak with you."

"I might be in rags, I might have to raise my son outside of a common room, but I will not speak to someone who has disgraced us!"

"I saw no better future for the Sangheili."

"Better future!? I'd rather me and my son died in honor than have to live in this festering hole!"

"I had to choose! There was no way of telling if the rest of our species survived the schism. There was no way to communicate with the outside, it was either surrender or extinction!"

"And your decision brought dishonor to all of us. My name is stained because of you! A name stained is no name at all!" The two left, going back the way they came and turning up the street. Voron stood alone in the alleyway, her head low. She turned around and lifted open the drainage cover in the middle of the alleyway. She then proceeded to drag the bodies and dump them into the cesspit below. Their bodies were sprawled atop the trash and muck. Once she was done, she replaced the cover.

"Rest in peace."


	6. Chapter 6: Temple of Truth

_Nihai 'Tuyok_

_1 mile north of the Empty Quarter_

Nihai stopped before an open courtyard, encircling a large cylindrical structure that ran all the way up to the surface. The courtyard encircled the structure, providing a buffer, protecting it from the assault of the abandoned buildings that surrounded it. It was a bubble in the liquid that was the Lower Quarters. Nihai could estimate that it was 5 meters in diameter, from his distance of about 30 meters away. The structure was made of bluish-purple panels with Purplish glows emanating from between the gaps.

"The Landfall Monument. Why are we here?" UF-3 asked.

"The stories about the monument are false. It's a façade to hide from the public what it really is."

"Then what is it?"

"I'll show you."

The former-Zealot-class approached the structure stopping before the metallic paneling. He pressed the paneling for about 30 seconds before a holographic display formed. A set of symbols orbited slowly around the main symbol of the Covenant. Nihai pressed a combination of these symbols, each glowing as he pressed them. Once he finished, he pressed the central symbol and the panel glowed before disappearing. Nihai stepped a few paces back. The large panel wall of the monument slid aside creating an opening. Nihai entered.

"Why would they hide this? Why would I not know about it?"

"When you were brought into existence it was decided that the covenant wouldn't trust an Associated Intelligence with this secret. Most of the public doesn't even know that there is something within. Whenever one enters this structure, a holographic field is projected around it, preventing outside viewers from seeing someone enter. When this district was populated, they would keep spectators at a distance, no one was allowed to actually touch the structure like I just did now. Nor would they, this is considered to be a religious structure, since it connects to the temple above."

Nihai entered the structure, which filtered him into a hall that ran tightly along the inside of the cylindrical structure. The inside wall was metallic and Forerunner in nature.

"A Forerunner structure?"

"Yes. Faith was a mining town, but it was built atop an excavation site. This structure is a lift of sorts that goes from a surface building within the main temple, to a facility below ground. We believe that it was at some point a research station, probably attempting to discover why this planet has such an unusually high volume of valuable resources."

Nihai approached a panel and placed his hand on it, calling the lift. "I haven't actually seen the facility myself, I was only introduced to this lift and the structure above. They told me about the rest. Supposedly it is the source of a lot of the covenant's modern technology. The lift goes deep underground, where the facility branches out into the very upper parts of the mantle of this planet. The structure above is concealed within Faith's Temple monolith. The Temple is connected to Faith's anti-gravity speedway network, and thus the Faith's Main Tower."

"So we have a way to get there." UF-3 added.

"Yes." A door opened as the lift stopped at its destination. He stepped on and activated another panel, causing the door to close and the lift to shoot back up. "How will we get inside?"

"The speedway, as you probably know, connects to the public lobby. There is a way inside from an emergency evacuation elevator within the security facilities."

"We have to make our way past the lobby and the security facilities. However, your suit's system can only hold active camouflage for roughly a minute. How will you get passed the security in roughly a minute?"

"I have a distraction planned."

The lift stopped and the door ahead opened. From the lift a hallway led out of the structure. He made his way out, taking note of the unlit interior of the monolith. He found a way out through an entrance concealed behind a pillar that rest against the monolith.

The temple was an empty place, largely abandoned after the war. The only traffic was around the outer part of the temple where the anti-gravity speedways wrapped around the Temple. The temple was open, and designed like that of a layered circle orbiting a large monolith. The monolith was half torn down, the product of the fighting during the Schism. Ironically, it was supposed to symbolize the unity brought by Prophets. The Layers were buildings that rung around the monolith. The first 'ring' was the Temple quarters, for the Priests and/or any visitors of religious significance to the covenant. The second ring housed the Prayer rooms, which gave a small space for individuals to pray privately. It was also the place they accepted donations. The third and outer most ring, and the only ring that now sees activity, connects to the Faith's speedway network. Nihai made his way past the first ring through an archway.

Having made his way to the inside wall of the second ring, Nihai stopped to check around the corner. He spotted a single Brute waiting by the anti-gravity speedway that connected the temple to Faith's main tower. He was larger than most of the Jiralhanae that Nihai has encountered before. He had dark grey hair and a blood red eyes and a big nose. His armor was heavy and obsidian black with dark red lights emitting from various ports. He wielded a large plasma turret. He also had two Maulers on his belt, and a Gravity Hammer strapped to his back with rough bindings. His expression was agitated, and bored as he sat crouched before the speedway.

"Come out!" He shouted. Having been spotted, Nihai came out casually, observing his new obstacle carefully.

"Why didn't you shoot already?"

"You don't get to ask questions. I ask the questions."

"Then ask your questions and get out of my way!"

"Are you Nihai'Tuyok?"

"Yes."

"Do you seek to kill Progress?"

"Yes, but that is not why I am here."

"Than what are you here for?" His questions were blandly asked, as if he already knew the answers but simply wanted or needed to confirm them.

"To get something that could potentially harm a lot of people. If someone here were to obtain it, they might misuse it."

"Hmph… Interesting… While I could careless at this point who kills Progress, you present a threat to my plans. You will die here Tuyokee." He smiled sadistically.

"Maybe… but not now, and certainly not by your hand."

The Brute returned to his agitated expression. "We'll see about that."

He got up and hefted the turret to point at the Elite. Nihai was already on the move, dashing off to the left of his enemy. He had no weapons, so he had to use what he could attain. He activated his active camouflage and came around at his enemy. However, instead of firing mindlessly like most Brutes would have done, he swung his turret around striking Nihai before he could reach the gravity hammer on the Brute's back.

The struck Zealot regained his footing, dodging to the right as soon as he could. He was quickly followed by a stream of plasma bolts. Nihai took cover behind a pillar, the Jiralhanae pinned him down with a continuous suppression of plasma. The rapid tatters of the turret whizzed louder and louder as he approached closer to Nihai. The Elite reactivated his camouflage and attempted to run to a better position behind the second ring wall to the Brute's right. The brute's eyes caught the shimmer of his camouflage and arched his spray to intercept. Nihai was knocked down, but was able to get back up before the Brute could break through his shielding.

"What's the matter? Are you scared yet? Are you ready to die!?"

Nihai took a moment to come up with a plan. He had nothing to fight with. This Brute was smarter and better than any of the ones Nihai had encountered before. The Brute's turret finally stopped firing, the mechanisms within overheated. He tossed it aside and pulled out the two maulers he had on his belt. _Why is he not using his hammer?_ Nihai wondered.

Once his shields recharged, Nihai retreated back behind the 1st ring. When he got there he checked behind him to see where the Brute was. He was not there. _He disappeared?_ Suddenly Nihai's eyes caught the shimmer of an active camouflage, but he lost it when it went around a corner. Nihai retreated back to the structure central structure, but not before being knocked down, by a Mauler blast. The Brute's camouflage revealed him after he fired. He came forward to finish his prey. The Brute fired but Nihai just shimmered. _It's a hologram! I have you now!_

The former-Zealot reappeared behind the Brute and grabbed onto the gravity hammer, prying it loose from the straps before the Brute could react. Nihai stepped back giving him room to maneuver the large hammer. He brought it around and swung it up, before swinging it down hard on his enemy. The Obsidian Brute dropped one of his maulers, quickly turned around, and caught the head of the large hammer with his bare hand. _What!?_

The Brute smiled and laughed, as a Trapper laughs in amusement at the prey's realization that he has been caught. _ It was fake! Bait for a deceitful trap._ The Brute swung his remaining Mauler around to face Nihai. _At this range, I'm dead!_

A loud zip and pop shattered a transparent field or barrier around the Brute, bashing him forward. _He has shields too? Who just saved me?_ Nihai took the opportunity to escape the Brute, dashing past him and through to the archway of the first ring. The shooter stood there in the archway, cloaked and wielding a plasma pistol, she was Sangheili and looked feminine. He ran up to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her with him as he dashed for the anti-gravity speedway. She struggled at first, but then cooperated once the Brute gave chase. The Brute stopped when they entered the speedway. He smiled sadistically.

"Hmph… You're fun Tuyokee, but you still disappoint."

The two Sangheili sped down the speedway, defying gravity, and shooting towards the main tower at high speeds. "Who are you?" Nihai asked the stranger. "I should ask you the same thing." The woman replied, revealing her face as she did. Nihai recognized her. "Voron." The woman looked over to get a better look at his face.

"Nihai… What brings you back?"

"There's no time to explain, when we're at a safe place within the Tower, I'll explain."


End file.
